Dimdim Castle

Dimdim Castle (Kurdish: قەڵای دمدم, romanized: Qelay Dimdim, Persian: قلعه دمدم) was a Kurdish fortress located on top of Mount Dimdim in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran, just west of Lake Urmia.^[1] This fortress was the location of the Battle of Dimdim.

Dimdim Castle
Kurdish: قەڵای دمدم (Qelay Dimdim)
Mount Dimdim, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran in Iran
Site information
Type	Fortress
Open to the public	Yes
Location
Dimdim Castle Dimdim Castle location in Iran
Coordinates	37°23′26.1″N 45°10′57.77″E
Site history
Built	1609
Built by	Emîr Xan Lepzêrîn
In use	1609–1610 (sieged by the Safavid Empire)
Fate	Rebuilt after siege
Battles/wars	Battle of Dimdim
Events	Siege by Safavid Empire forces in 1609

According to Kurdish oral tradition the fortress was built in the pre-Islamic era.^[2] The castle suffered an attack by the Safavid Empire and was sacked in 1609,^[3] then rebuilt by the Amir Khan Lepzerin in the same year.^[2] Other source mentioned that the siege of Dimdim Castle was in 1610.^[1]

Name

The word "Dimdim" may be onomatopoeic for the noise which the stones of the castle made when they dropped from the castle into the valley.^[4]

See also

• Battle of Dimdim
• Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18)
• List of Kurdish castles
• List of castles in Iran